Some years back I ranted on this forum that, while white-water paddling had a plethora (e.g.: an over-abundance) of boats made for specific putposes (river runners, creeks, surfing, play boat, etc.) and varying sizes, the sea kayak field was still stuck with boats that, for the most part, "tracked on rails" and carried a load. I'd like to think that my rant had an effect on the industry because shortly afterwards there was suddenly an abundance of flat-water (for lack of a better term) boats designed to fulfill differing roles. I'd also like to think that Paddlewise was so widely read back then that manufacturers paid us a lot of attention. Of course, there was always Mariner in there with numerous boats designed for different roles (and with perhaps the first boats designed for smaller people but with the same handling characteristics as the larger boats). And the Tsunami Rangers were getting a lot of press with their big water escapades (often in Mariner Coasters). So maybe we were moribund 5 years ago; we sure aren't now! In fact, the change has been breathtaking. The Greenland Revolution, rock-gardening, tidal stream paddling and one that I never saw coming: kayaks built to be especially good at rolling. Often enough ONLY good at rolling with little room to carry anything more than a sandwich for lunch. I remain a firm follower of the Dave Kruger system of trying hard not to tip over (but being ready for it in case it happens) but the sea kayak community has moved from a group of people who perhaps had NEVER tried a roll to folks who routinely roll just for the fun of it. And Deception Pass - which was once a place to avoid - can now be downright crowded on good tidal flows. Probably most paddlers still use their kayaks for touring or sight-seeing on nice days but an increasing number do lots more and often do it in a kayak that they've built with their own hands. Pygmy kayaks is producing a wider variety of kayaks than ever before in kit form and there are now quite a few "workshops" that help us build a skin-on-frame kayak that fits us perfectly in just over a week. SUPs and surf skis will be forever out of my reach. I can barely stand up on dry land and I am pretty sure that a surf ski and I would part company quickly. But it's a lot of fun to watch those two communities grow and prosper. As I get closer to the big seven-oh I notice that I am paying a lot closer attention to being more cautious out on the water than ever before. And since my knee replacement made it possible to ride a bike again I'm dividing my recreational time up between a lot more interests (RV'ing in our new-to-us motor home, mountain biking, wood working in the shop, kayaking, etc.). Even our on-line community has undergone a change what with Facebook, Google+ and a series of blogs and forums out there. None of us has the time to devote to all of them and the change has splintered what was once the only real international paddling group (Paddlewise). But a lot of us have gone on to be influential in the field through other venues; including print journalism. It's been pretty exciting to be part of paddling and part of Paddlewise.... I'm sure we'll see a lot more changes in the future. Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012, at 02:08 PM, Craig Jungers wrote: > Some years back I ranted on this forum that, while white-water paddling > had > a plethora (e.g.: an over-abundance) of boats made for specific putposes > (river runners, creeks, surfing, play boat, etc.) and varying sizes, the > sea kayak field was still stuck with boats that, for the most part, > "tracked on rails" and carried a load. > <snip> > > SUPs and surf skis will be forever out of my reach. I can barely stand up > on dry land and I am pretty sure that a surf ski and I would part company > quickly. But it's a lot of fun to watch those two communities grow and > prosper. Surf ski's are undergoing a similar revolution - in terms of being more user friendly. Many of my friends have moved to paddling an Epic V8, one of them commented last weekend "I don't think I could tip this over". We were paddling in beam seas with a 20 knot beam wind at the time. I was contemplating where my boat might stop if I didn't have my leash and I tipped over, the others were contemplating anything they wanted, they weren't focused on the conditions... Epic just released the V6 tourer which is a 16' by 23" touring model complete with hatches. To make it clear this isn't a vendor sales pitch. I much prefer the construction of the Huki surf ski's. I'm just impressed by the expansion of the epic designs into user friendly boats, for the average paddler. For those still in decked boats ;-) the Rockpool Taran seems really interesting. I don't need another boat, but what's the current dream boat for a commercially produced boat for doing rolls? -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I was reading an old Sea Kayaker magazine the other day and saw a review of the Valley Rapier kayak. 20' by 17". Never seen one in real life. It rates 13.8 on the Sound Rowers website. Don't know if I mentioned here I can roll my surfski using a waist belt to keep me in the seat. My friends say "why would you want to roll a surfski" but Duane mentioned that he saw several people having trouble remounting in his race in SF. Mark On 9/24/2012 5:37 AM, Kirk Olsen wrote: > For those still in decked boats;-) the Rockpool Taran seems really > interesting. > > I don't need another boat, but what's the current dream boat for a > commercially produced boat for doing rolls? > -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 7:11 AM, Mark Sanders <marksanders_at_sandmarks.net>wrote: > > Don't know if I mentioned here I can roll my surfski using a waist belt to > keep me in the seat. My friends say "why would you want to roll a surfski" > but Duane mentioned that he saw several people having trouble remounting in > his race in SF. > > A few years back, when SUPs were just being introduced, one of the young bucks was paddling his around when I made some offhand comment like, "Ya, but can you roll it?" He could. It wasn't easy, but he rolled his SUP by sitting flat and hooking his knees on either side. Kinda fun! :) Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Sep 24, 2012, at 10:11 AM, Mark Sanders wrote: > I was reading an old Sea Kayaker magazine the other day and saw a review > of the Valley Rapier kayak. 20' by 17". Never seen one in real life. It > rates 13.8 on the Sound Rowers website. > Don't know if I mentioned here I can roll my surfski using a waist belt > to keep me in the seat. My friends say "why would you want to roll a > surfski" but Duane mentioned that he saw several people having trouble > remounting in his race in SF. One of the guys who paddles with us periodically has had a couple of valley rapiers. I'll have to borrow his current boat try some rolls... It's been a while since I had some good upside downtime. Someone else mentioned the Black Pearl. Jim Farrelly clued me in on the Black Pearl a year or so back, very nice looking hull, from a low to the water I like rolling perspective. As for the surf ski, you definitely need to practice remounts as you would rolls. The same conditions are going to be there when you try to get back up, as were there when you went over.... I'm not terribly surprised that there were some problems at the SF race that Duane did, I know how often my cronies practice remounts and expect that to be consistent with other areas. I've seen pictures of surf ski's with lap belts but haven't ever tried one. Heritage kayaks (when it was hop-on-top) had knee straps for their performance sit on tops.. They worked very well for staying on the boat and doing rolls. Kirk -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Sep 24, 2012, at 10:11 AM, Mark Sanders wrote: > I was reading an old Sea Kayaker magazine the other day and saw a review > of the Valley Rapier kayak. 20' by 17". Never seen one in real life. It > rates 13.8 on the Sound Rowers website. > Don't know if I mentioned here I can roll my surfski using a waist belt > to keep me in the seat. My friends say "why would you want to roll a > surfski" but Duane mentioned that he saw several people having trouble > remounting in his race in SF. One of the guys who paddles with us periodically has had a couple of valley rapiers. I'll have to borrow his current boat try some rolls... It's been a while since I had some good upside downtime. Someone else mentioned the Black Pearl. Jim Farrelly clued me in on the Black Pearl a year or so back, very nice looking hull, from a low to the water I like rolling perspective. As for the surf ski, you definitely need to practice remounts as you would rolls. The same conditions are going to be there when you try to get back up, as were there when you went over.... I'm not terribly surprised that there were some problems at the SF race that Duane did, I know how often my cronies practice remounts and expect that to be consistent with other areas. I've seen pictures of surf ski's with lap belts but haven't ever tried one. Heritage kayaks (when it was hop-on-top) had knee straps for their performance sit on tops.. They worked very well for staying on the boat and doing rolls. Kirk -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 5:37 AM, Kirk Olsen <kork4_at_cluemail.com> wrote: > > I don't need another boat, but what's the current dream boat for a > commercially produced boat for doing rolls? I don't keep up on it but from the postings on Facebook by guys like Joe O' one of the hot boats is the "Black Pearl" which, apparently, also comes in white but is still called the "Black Pearl". Apparently "Opalescent Pearl" isn't catchy enough. Pam has been paddling one of Stirling's Illusions for the past couple of years and told me that she can barely get a tent, sleeping, bag and food into the aft hatch. But it rolls well. A year ago she and I were in Port Townsend and she gave herself an ice-cream headache rolling a couple of the new Pygmy kayaks. There was a couple trying out a more benign pair of Pygmy boats that were pretty much blown away watching her roll over and over and over.... I think they were seeing themselves having to learn how to do that and wondering if they'd survive. :) Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I just got a low volume black pearl and there are quite a few quality problems but it paddles real well and I am trying to fix some of the problems and will be giving seabird suggestions for improvements (leaking thru deck line holes, lousy hatches, foot pedals set up so only short people fit in kayak and others) David miskell 802-318-0576 -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net] On Behalf Of Craig Jungers Sent: Monday, September 24, 2012 11:09 AM To: Kirk Olsen Cc: Paddlewise Paddlewise Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Catch your breath.... On Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 5:37 AM, Kirk Olsen <kork4_at_cluemail.com> wrote: > > I don't need another boat, but what's the current dream boat for a > commercially produced boat for doing rolls? I don't keep up on it but from the postings on Facebook by guys like Joe O' one of the hot boats is the "Black Pearl" which, apparently, also comes in white but is still called the "Black Pearl". Apparently "Opalescent Pearl" isn't catchy enough. Pam has been paddling one of Stirling's Illusions for the past couple of years and told me that she can barely get a tent, sleeping, bag and food into the aft hatch. But it rolls well. A year ago she and I were in Port Townsend and she gave herself an ice-cream headache rolling a couple of the new Pygmy kayaks. There was a couple trying out a more benign pair of Pygmy boats that were pretty much blown away watching her roll over and over and over.... I think they were seeing themselves having to learn how to do that and wondering if they'd survive. :) Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 5:37 AM, Kirk Olsen <kork4_at_cluemail.com> wrote: > > Surf ski's are undergoing a similar revolution - in terms of being more > user friendly. > > I'll have to try one if we can ever manage to get another kayak symposium working in the Puget Sound area. Although I can't afford another boat.... well, I can afford another boat but what I can't afford is a divorce. :) Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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